Mistaken Identity

I was standing outside in the cold weather in spite of the beautiful sunny day, smoking a cigarette with two of my colleagues, when a colleague from a former department joined us. Immediately after greetings us he looked at me with concern in his eyes. I thought he was sympathyising with me because of how I look with my heavy jacket and tsal tight around my neck and my deep voice because of the flue. In stead he asked with care "do you have family members affected by that horrible earthquick?" I was puzzeled, not because I knew what he was talking about, he meant the earthquick in Turkey yesterday, but because we knew each other for years, used to work together in the same department!

Some time ago I had to work late, three colleagues were with me. We finished our part of the work and had to wait for another team to resume work, so we had some time off to exchange jokes and talks. One of the colleagues asked me "how is the situation over there now? I mean in your country of origin?" that colleague and I became aqcuainted since we worked together on a one week project more than 4 years ago. That colleague told me on the first day of the project that "I admit it and not ashamed, but I do hate foreigners so much", because of the bad things foreingers do where she lives. After I finished telling news on Iraq I noticed another colleague looking at me with puzzlement, and her green eyes were wide open. I asked her if I said something wrong. With hesitation she said "nnn... no, but... no, nothing is wrong" I insisted and told her to say what's on her mind, she replied "well... I thought you are from another country, and not Iraq". By the way, I knew that colleague for more than a year. I asked her which? she said "I don't know, I thought one of these countries... I mean I thought you are from Afghanistan"

I won't be fooled by the Spanish begger when it happened a couple of years ago. SI was standing next to the entrance of a restraunt when she approached me and started asking questions. When I told her that I don't speak Italian, with a fake smile she told me "I would not notice, you look like any Italian handsome man". Anyway, I will never be fooled by this, however, my features cannot by any means resembles that of Turkish, neither it is any close to be identified as Afghani.